OBSERVER Staff Reports

MIDDLEPORT — During the 2021-22 season, in the midst of a four-win campaign, freshman Mathis Baehr was called up to Falconer’s varsity team and hit a game-winning 3-pointer at Forestville.

Fast-forward a couple of years. Baehr hit a much bigger shot Saturday.

Tied at 55 with the final possession, Roger Markham dribbled away from a screen and drew a help defender before passing to Baehr, who hit a game-winning 3-pointer as time expired as the fifth-seeded Golden Falcons beat No. 4 Royalton-Hartland 58-55 in a Section VI Class B2 quarterfinal.

“Me and my dad knew we had something special with him from that day,” Falconer head coach Jordan Goold said. “It came back around, but this time it wasn’t at Forestville, it was in the quarterfinals of the sectional tournament.”

The victory sends Falconer into Wednesday’s 8 p.m. semifinal at the Buffalo State Sports Arena against No. 1 MST, a 53-49 winner over No. 8 Wilson in another Saturday quarterfinal.

“I’m ecstatic. I haven’t told them, but I kept telling myself if we get to Buffalo State anything can happen on a neutral court,” Goold said. “Now that we’re there, we have a special group and we have a really good chance to do something. They believe in themselves, too. It’s very exciting.”

Baehr’s final shot gave him a career-high 29 points for the game, eclipsing a previous best of 27. The junior scored 15 points in the first quarter and totaled 20 in the first half.

Roger Markham finished with 12 points, six assists and four steals; Zach Markham and Max Parmentier had eight rebounds apiece; and Bradyn Fuller had seven rebounds for the Golden Falcons.

Dan Aquilina led the Rams with 19 points and Jackson Webber had 13.

FALCONER (58)

Fuller 3 0 8, Baehr 9 6 29, Swanson 0 0 0, Bailey 0 0 0, RMarkham 4 2 12, ZMarkham 2 0 4, Binkley 0 0 0, Parmentier 2 1 5. Totals 20 9 58.

ROYALTON-HARTLAND (55)

Albee 0 7 7, Swygert 3 0 8, DAquilina 8 3 19, Powell 0 1 1, Bruning 0 0 0, Ricker 2 0 4, MAquilina 1 0 3, Webber 5 0 13. Totals 19 11 55.

3-point goals–Fuller 2, Baehr 5, RMarkham 2, Swygert 2, MAquilina, Webber 3.

Falconer 20 9 16 13 — 58

Royalton-Hartland 16 11 16 12 — 55

HIND PICKS UP

400TH WIN

RANDOLPH — Head coach Kevin Hind won his 400th game as No. 1 Randolph hit 16 3-pointers en route to a 91-47 Class C quarterfinal win over No. 8 Barker.

Drew Hind led the way for the Cardinals with 36 points, including six 3-pointers, to go along with seven rebounds, five assists and three steals, while Kevin McElwain hit seven 3-pointers on his way to 25 points and added four rebounds.

“We won my 300th game during (son) Tyler’s junior year and superintendent Kaine Kelly joked with me that five more 20-win seasons will get me to 400 during Roan (Kelly’s) senior year,” Kevin Hind said Saturday. “We’ve had a good run, an awesome run. We’ve won 100 games in five years and I did it with both of my boys, which makes it that much more special.”

Kelly finished with 10 points, while Griffin Nelson had 11 assists, six steals and three rebounds for Randolph, which led 52-22 at halftime.

Aidan Mescall led the Bulldogs with 18 points and Luey Castro had 14.

Randolph, the defending Class C state champion, will play in the 6 p.m. semifinal Tuesday at Jamestown Community College against No. 5 Panama, which beat No. 4 Franklinville 76-50 in another quarterfinal Saturday.

BARKER (47)

Mescall 7 0 18, Monaco 2 3 8, Murrell 2 0 5, Hefferon 1 0 2, Castro 6 2 14, Harris 0 0 0, Schwab 0 0 0, Kalynycz 0 0 0, Ark 0 0 0. Totals 18 5 47.

RANDOLPH (91)

Morrison 2 0 6, Kelly 5 0 10, Hind 14 2 36, McElwain 9 0 25, Freeman 3 0 6, Brooks 1 1 3, Foster 0 2 2, MBeaver 1 0 3, Nelson 0 0 0, Johnson 0 0 0, NBeaver 0 0 0, Huntington 0 0 0, Pihlblad 0 0 0, Bryan 0 0 0, Conley 0 0 0. Totals 35 5 91.

3-point goals–Mescall 4, Monaco, Murrell, Morrison 2, Hind 6, McElwain 7, Beaver.

Barker 10 12 12 13 — 47

Randolph 28 24 22 17 — 91

CATANESE HAS CAREER DAY

FRANKLINVILLE — Junior Tate Catanese scored a career-high 24 points to go along with 12 rebounds to lead No. 5 Panama to a 76-50 win over No. 4 Franklinville in a Class C quarterfinal.

Catanese, who made his first 10 attempts from the floor, also had two assists and a steal for Panama, which will take on No. 1 Randolph in the 6 p.m. semifinal Tuesday at Jamestown Community College. The Cardinals beat No. 8 Barker 91-47 in another Saturday quarterfinal.

Panama led Franklinville 14-12 after the first quarter and 33-23 at halftime before a 31-13 third quarter during which Jordan Mescall and Carter Brink scored 10 points apiece and Bryce Hinsdale had 9.

“Franklinville came out with a lot of energy. There was a good crowd there in a good playoff environment,” Nelson said. “We came out in the third quarter, ramped the defensive pressure up and things started clicking.”

Brink finished with 20 points and seven assists; Hinsdale had 16 points and five assists; and Mescall had 10 points for Panama.

Matthew Spittler led Franklinville with 20 points and Noah Shenk had 11.

PANAMA (76)

Mescall 4 0 10, Hinsdale 7 2 16, Keefe 0 0 0, Brink 8 2 20, Catanese 11 2 24, Spiesman 0 0 0, Barmore 3 0 6. Totals 33 6 76.

FRANKLINVILLE (50)

Terwilliger 1 0 3, Blecha 3 3 9, NShenk 4 0 11, Spittler 8 4 20, Towne 2 2 6, Mooney 0 1 1. Totals 18 10 50.

3-point goals–Mescall 2, Brink 2, Terwilliger, NShenk 3.

Panama 14 19 31 12 — 76

Franklinville 12 11 13 14 — 50

EDEN ELIMINATES SILVER CREEK

EDEN — No. 7 Silver Creek cut a 25-point third-quarter deficit to eight in the final minutes, but could get no closer in a 66-50 Class B2 quarterfinal loss to No. 2 Eden.

Chris Krencik scored 20 points, Taesyn Slating added 18 and Mike Wyland chipped in 13 for the Raiders, who will take on No. 6 Allegany-Limestone in a 5 p.m. semifinal Thursday at the Buffalo State Sports Arena.

Senior Ray Cortes, the Black Knights’ all-time leading scorer, closed his career with 27 points to go along with 12 rebounds, five assists, three blocked shots and two steals. Alex Galfo had 9 points and Jose Prats had seven rebounds.

SILVER CREEK (50)

Galfo 3 1 9, Steinwachs 1 0 3, White 3 0 6, Eick 0 0 0, Pratts 2 1 5, Cortes 9 6 27. Totals 18 8 50.

EDEN (66)

Krencik 6 5 20, Genco 2 3 9, Wakelam 3 0 6, Mason 0 0 0, MWyland 6 1 13, Slating 6 2 18. Totals 23 11 66.

3-point goals–Galfo 2, Steinwachs, Cortes 3, Krencik 3, Genco 2, Slating 4.

Silver Creek 8 14 15 13 — 50

Eden 22 23 5 16 — 66